I read Agatha Christie's source novel several times and lost count of how many different versions of the story I watched on film as well as on stage, but one thing is for certain: I will never grow tired of "And then there were None". The very first film-adaptation, released in 1945 already, still stands proud as the best version (and my personal favorite), but this mini-series is the completest version and perhaps also the most accessible one, suitable to introduce the genius of Mrs. Christie to younger audiences! "And then there were None" was produced by the BBC to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth. My sincerest respect to the makers, because they truly took the time and effort to achieve a qualitative and detailed enactment of the story with top-notch casting choices, stunningly accurate filming locations, precise decors, continuous underlying tension an ominous atmosphere throughout.
The only real difference with the original story is the nature of the 10 little protagonists of the infamous nursery rhyme! For obvious reasons, the use of words referring to "black people" is unacceptable, but apparently it's nowadays also racist and discriminating to use little Indians! Hence, we're following the elimination of ten little soldier boys here, and they're illustrated via ugly modern art ornaments (???) standing on the dinner table. I guess the rest of the plot is universally known and doesn't need a further summary? Oh heck, just because I love the story: ten people, complete strangers to each other, are heading out towards the minuscule Soldier's Island off the English coast. They were all lured to the island, via a formal invitation or a job offer, by a certain Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen (read that out loud) but upon their arrival their host and hostess aren't present. After dinner, the guests are suddenly confronted with a recording in which every single one of them is accused of being responsible for the death of a fellow human being even though they weren't punished for it. Immediately after the recording and the initial panic, the guests are killed one by one in ways that are reminiscent to the "10 Little Soldiers" rhyme. Since they are the only people on the island, the rapidly shrinking group of survivors realize that U.N Owen doesn't exist and that one of them is the murderer.
This is probably the longest version of "And then there were None" ever filmed, but you never get the impression that it's tedious. It's slow-paced and atmospheric, with the screenplay digging deeper into the details of the guests' previously committed crimes. The horror fan in me somewhat regrets that the actual murders are either too briefly or even entirely off-screen, but the lack of spectacle is widely compensated by the subtle tension-building and the profound character portraits. The cast is downright fantastic. Admittedly I only knew two names at first (Charles Dance and Sam Neill), but the rest of the cast is experienced and multi-talented as well. I doubt if Mrs. Christie would have approved of the "drunken orgy" sequences that were inserted close to the finale, but apart from that I've never seen a more version more faithful to the source novel. Agatha Christie is more alive than ever, in fact, since writer/director Kenneth Brannagh recently also delivered a brand new version of "Murder on the Orient Express".
